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276
redder bodies are less hot.”379 Democritus’s explanation of the brightness of a metal
object as an indicator of the intensity of its temperature is correct to such a degree that it
has served as the starting-point for modern theories of the behavior of radiation.380 Note,
however, that he addresses not only the temperature of the objects but also the texture
(tenuity vs. coarseness) of the element of fire itself. For Democritus, the texture of fire,
its tactile qualities, have an effect on its visual appearance.
Although in the modern age we certainly have a concept of texture as one
component of vision (that is, our eyes can communicate to our brain the probable texture
of an object without our having to touch it), great advances in the science of sight have
resulted in a primarily passive concept of vision. Our eyes receive pictures of objects in
our environment with greater and lesser degrees of detail depending on our visual acuity,
and the primary role of the eye is to process those images and convey them to the brain.
However, for the ancient philosophers and physicians following Democritus who worked
to understand the vision process, there were primarily two choices for the basis of a
theory of vision: extramission or intromission. Either particles were generated from the
eye and traveled until they struck an object, thus enabling a visual image of that object to
be formed (extramission), or particles were given off by objects and traveled until they
struck the eye or caused air to strike the eye, making an imprint of the object
(intromission). In either case, physical interaction between the eye and the environment
was of paramount importance.
379 Theophr. Sens. 75 (transl. Sambursky 1962, 160). καὶ τὸν σίδηρον δὲ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ πυρούμενα.
λαμπρότατα μὲν γὰρ εἶναι τὰ πλεῖστον ἔχοντα καὶ λεπτότατον πῦρ, ἐρυθρότερα δὲ τὰ παχύτερον καὶ
ἔλαττον. διὸ καὶ ἦττον εἶναι θερμὰ τὰ ἐρυθρότερα.
380 Sambursky 1962, 160.
Object Description
| Title | Making sense of sacrifice: Sensory experience in Greco-Roman cult |
| Author | Weddle, Candace Cherie |
| Author email | candaceweddle@gmail.com; weddle@usc.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Art History |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-03-04 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-04-27 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Pollini, John |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Yasin, Ann Marie Bitel, Lisa |
| Abstract | Performing a sacrifice was one of the most sensorially full actions undertaken in the Greco-Roman world. The production and control of the correct movements, scents and sounds were prerequisites for summoning, communicating with and propitiating deities. Sacrifice was also ubiquitous, occurring on an almost continual basis as a range of sacrificial activities were celebrated publicly and privately in a variety of locations in urban areas. Cultivating a multi-sensory understanding of the full range of sensory elements that accompanied ancient cult rites – visual and auditory cues, things smelled, tasted and touched - provides a platform for achieving a more thorough knowledge of the meanings of the rites.; This dissertation examines the archaeological, literary and epigraphical evidence for the role of the senses in Greek and Roman sacrifice in order to analyze the social and ritual importance of the senses, the impact of sacrificial rituals within ancient urban spaces, and the sensory experience of the ancient worshiper. Given the ephemeral nature of much of the evidence for sensory elements of worship, as well as the subjectivity inherent in representations of sensory experience in literature and art, this dissertation argues for the necessity of crossing disciplinary boundaries in order to appreciate the sensory impact of ancient sacrifice. Therefore, in addition to utilizing traditional historical and art historical approaches, methodological tools from the field of anthropology and evidence from studies in the animal behavioral sciences and consumer sciences are employed. For example, I suggest that greater understanding of the experience of ancient sacrifice may be acquired through an autoethnographic investigation of modern religious sacrifice. To that end, I analyze my experience of the slaughter of large numbers of bovines during the Islamic Kurban Bayram sacrifices in Istanbul to make suggestions concerning certain elements of the sensory experience of ancient blood sacrifice. I focus not only on the sensory experience of humans participating in (or within range of) sacrifices, but also on that of the animal victims. Given the immense ritual importance of the behavior of sacrificial animals in antiquity, I suggest that it is possible to identify some sensory aspects of the sacrificial process that may have been intentionally manipulated in order to control the reactions of the victims as far as possible.; Particular attention is paid to mundane aspects of the process of sacrifice not often addressed in ancient literary sources or represented in art that would have resulted in notable sensory impacts on areas surrounding urban temples, for example the removal of sacrificial refuse. I conclude not only that these elements of sacrifice formed an important part of the sensory experience of Greco-Roman cult, but also that their effects were more far-reaching – in terms both of how great an area they affected and how long they lasted – than has previously been recognized. Using fresh interdisciplinary approaches to well-known examples of texts and images, this dissertation employs a more visceral approach to the study of the sensory experience of ancient sacrifice than is possible when considering textual and archaeological evidence alone. |
| Keyword | archaeology; autoethnography; cult; Greece; religion; Rome; sacrifice; senses |
| Geographic subject (city or populated place) | Rome |
| Geographic subject (country) | Italy; Greece |
| Coverage date | circa -0600/0600 |
| Coverage era | Greco Roman |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3788 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Weddle, Candace Cherie |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Weddle-4363 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume48/etd-Weddle-4363.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 294 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 276 redder bodies are less hot.”379 Democritus’s explanation of the brightness of a metal object as an indicator of the intensity of its temperature is correct to such a degree that it has served as the starting-point for modern theories of the behavior of radiation.380 Note, however, that he addresses not only the temperature of the objects but also the texture (tenuity vs. coarseness) of the element of fire itself. For Democritus, the texture of fire, its tactile qualities, have an effect on its visual appearance. Although in the modern age we certainly have a concept of texture as one component of vision (that is, our eyes can communicate to our brain the probable texture of an object without our having to touch it), great advances in the science of sight have resulted in a primarily passive concept of vision. Our eyes receive pictures of objects in our environment with greater and lesser degrees of detail depending on our visual acuity, and the primary role of the eye is to process those images and convey them to the brain. However, for the ancient philosophers and physicians following Democritus who worked to understand the vision process, there were primarily two choices for the basis of a theory of vision: extramission or intromission. Either particles were generated from the eye and traveled until they struck an object, thus enabling a visual image of that object to be formed (extramission), or particles were given off by objects and traveled until they struck the eye or caused air to strike the eye, making an imprint of the object (intromission). In either case, physical interaction between the eye and the environment was of paramount importance. 379 Theophr. Sens. 75 (transl. Sambursky 1962, 160). καὶ τὸν σίδηρον δὲ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ πυρούμενα. λαμπρότατα μὲν γὰρ εἶναι τὰ πλεῖστον ἔχοντα καὶ λεπτότατον πῦρ, ἐρυθρότερα δὲ τὰ παχύτερον καὶ ἔλαττον. διὸ καὶ ἦττον εἶναι θερμὰ τὰ ἐρυθρότερα. 380 Sambursky 1962, 160. |
